For years, the origin of a new wave song heard on German radio in the 1980s could not be identified, despite extensive research. But on Monday, November 4, a user of the social network “Reddit” claimed to have discovered the authors of this hitherto anonymous tune.
Such mysteries are rare, at a time when you can pull out your phone to identify a melody in a few seconds. But in 1980, when German radio North German Radio play a song new wavethe rare listeners behind their post do not identify its author. The piece, recorded on a cassette, circulated for years, raising many questions, until this Monday, November 4 when a user of a forum page Reddit dedicated to this enigma, boasts of having solved the mystery. These latest revelations sound the death knell for a quest lasting several decades and provide the opportunity to retrace this crazy story which has long occupied amateur detectives and other music enthusiasts.
The original mystery
In the early 1980s, Darius S., a young teenager and DJ, heard music broadcast on German radio and recorded it on a cassette, reports an article in the American magazine Rolling Stone. He makes one mixtapecompilation of several tracks, including sounds from The Cure and other artists. In 2004, more than 20 years later, the young man created his website, which is called Unknown Pleasuresand transfers his personal creations, including mysterious music, to make them available to as many people as possible. The first to wonder about its origin is Lydia, the DJ's sister, who tries to identify it by sharing it on various forums dedicated to German music from the 1980s, in vain.
A few years later, in 2011, TMS (The Mysterious Song) is uploaded to YouTube, then republished on the channel of the independent label Dead Wax Records in 2017, which titles the video as follows: “Help us identify this song!”still without result. The piece continues its wanderings through the twists and turns of the web, and ends up on the social network Reddit. Very quickly, other investigators were called upon: professional DJs were called upon, as well as researchers and even a German institution (GEMA) in charge of intellectual property. But all these efforts prove useless, and the song retains its mystery.
L’impossible identification
However, a host of hypotheses emerged during these years of investigation. Because even if the music captured by Darius S. does not include any element allowing the date of its broadcast to be authenticated, technical information provides clues. Some suggest the song dates back to 1984, as the tape recorder that allegedly recorded it was made from that year. Others assure that the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, released at the end of 1983, was used in the piece which could therefore have been produced during this period.
In 2021, an article published in a German fanzine caused a real stir. Its authors claim to have discovered the date of the piece, 1983, the performer, the Viennese singer Christian Brandl, as well as the drummer, Ronnie Urini. But the theory quickly collapses when Robert Wolf, a member of their group, assures that there is nothing left.
New revelations
On Monday, November 4, 2024, the Reddit user called marijn1412 wrote on the forum: «TMS [La Mystérieuse Chanson] has been identified! It's Subways Of Your Mind., music by the German group FEX dating from 1984. While researching German music, he discovered, in the newspaper's archives Northwest newspaper, the existence of this group which made music “rock with Wave and Pop influences” in the 80s. A style which, according to him, corresponds to the famous music.
Marijn1412 contacted FEX to learn more about their work, and they sent him several of their pieces. He thus discovers the cassette of «Subways Of Your Mind»which would be the original of the unknown song. If no one has ever listened to it until now, it's because FEX has never released a record. We can think that the group had sent their single to the radio to make themselves known. But it was only a demo, not recorded and broadcast music.
Michael Hädrich, one of the former members of FEX, announced Marijn1412 that the group would soon reunite to produce a new version of the now iconic song. There is no doubt that this revelation should liven up the forums for some time.
